The problem | Our mission | Our expertise | Our values | Our impact | Our team

The problem

As the country has reached historic disparities in wealth and across a range of other measurements of well-being, Public Integrity is focusing its investigative reporting on inequality, a problem ingrained in the culture and economy of the U.S. since its founding.  

Our mission

Public Integrity seeks to counter the corrosive effects of inequality by holding powerful interests accountable and equipping the public with knowledge to drive change. We are an independent, nonpartisan and nonprofit news organization dedicated to investigating systems and circumstances that contribute to inequality in our country.

Our expertise

Our reporters excel at investigating the systems and circumstances that contribute to inequality in labor, housing, health care, education and access to democracy. We also expose the far reaching implications of a history of unequal power, by examining disparities in environmental and criminal justice, transportation, technology and access to financial tools.

Our values

  • Depth: We strive to provide a definitive look at the issues we tackle, examining the context and history of inequitable systems and evaluating solutions.
  • Collaboration: We broaden the reach of our investigations by partnering with national and local news organizations, especially in underserved communities. We understand that audiences turn to trusted sources of information in their own communities, beyond journalists, and we work with these influencers to ensure more people have access to our work.
  • Equitable access: We believe access to information is key to equity. Our journalism is free to all. Our work is supported by philanthropy, sponsorships and individual donations.  
  • Tenacity: Whether it’s online harassment, trolling of our journalists or threat of lawsuits aimed at silencing our investigations, we do not bow down to external pressure and will continue to expose inequities that have harmed marginalized communities.
  • A culture of belonging: We acknowledge journalism’s role in upholding inequality and mainstream media’s historical failure to provide fair and accurate coverage about marginalized communities. We pursue diverse voices on our staff and in our stories and strive for greater transparency.

Our impact

Public Integrity confronts inequality in the United States through investigative journalism that has led to hundreds of law and policy changes, has forced federal and state governments to release information critical to the public interest, has held corporations to account for abuses of power, and has been recognized with the Pulitzer Prize and numerous other awards. Here are some of the most recent examples of Public Integrity’s impact:

  • Congress increased spending to assist homeless students following our “Unhoused & Undercounted” investigation revealing how local school districts across the country have failed to identify and serve homeless students, in violation of federal law. Congressional leaders  pledged to hold federal departments accountable for making sure local school districts accurately identify and serve them. 
  • Our “Attacked Behind the Wheel” investigation into abuse of women in the trucking industry sparked the opening of a criminal investigation into the sexual assault of a driver in training. 
  • The Biden administration announced sweeping new protections for undocumented immigrants who blow the whistle on labor abuses after our “Cheated at Work” and “Hidden Hardships” investigations exposed how food industry workers were silenced by threat of deportation. 
  • Our “Criminalizing Kids” investigation has been cited in communities across the country to successfully reduce or turn back the growth in police presence in schools, which our reporting found to be disproportionately harmful to Black, Latino and Indigenous students and children with disabilities.
  • The EPA announced a proposed ban on most uses of a paint stripping chemical that Public Integrity reporting has exposed as deadly to workers.
  • Our “Harm’s Way” investigation into the federal government’s failure to assist communities that face relocation due to climate change prompted legislative calls for reform of FEMA’s approach to the issue and was recognized as a semi-finalist for Harvard University’s Goldsmith Prize for investigative reporting.

The impact of Public Integrity’s work has been recognized with numerous awards over the past year, including a Peabody nomination for the organization’s podcast, “The Heist,” a national Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence; Mental Health America’s 2023 media award recognizing an individual or organization that has “educated, informed and broken down stigma and shame” around mental health issues; the Paul J. Tobenkin Award for “outstanding achievements in reporting on racial or religious hatred, intolerance or discrimination in the United States;” the Shaufler Prize for work that advances understanding of issues facing underserved people in society; and the Stewart B. McKinney Award honoring significant contributions to the understanding of homelessness in America.

Our team

Our newsroom includes award-winning reporters, editors and data journalists with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences. It Includes alumni of ProPublica, the Center for Investigative Reporting, Baltimore Sun, Seattle Times, San Antonio Express-News, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Education Week, Vox and the Chicago Reporter. 

Public Integrity went from 85% white and majority men in 2016 to now majority journalists of color and women. Across the organization, at least 10% of our team identify as LGBTQI+, and at least 10% identify as having some kind of disability.